


Zevran Arainai: relationship headcanons.

by Silence_burns



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, M/M, Zevran's s/o has no mentioned gender or race, relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24324406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silence_burns/pseuds/Silence_burns
Summary: Headcanons about various aspects of a relationship with Zevran.
Relationships: Zevran Arainai & Warden, Zevran Arainai/Mahariel, Zevran Arainai/Tabris, Zevran Arainai/Warden
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

  * There’s a lot of surprise when the party finds out Zevran is in a relationship. There’s even more of it when they find out he’s actually committed to it, let alone faithful. 
  * Zevran would laugh at that, very pleased with his romantic achievements being so widely known. In private, he’d wince at that, though. 
  * Sure, he’d had a lot of fun with a lot of people, there was no point in denying any of that, and besides - why would he? 
  * As a member of the Crows, there were certain people he had to get close to, and so he did. 
  * As a tired, lonely man when he was not working, he took what was willingly offered, and was always grateful for that. To deny that would undermine the respect he always treated those closest to him with, even if the closure lasted only for a night. 
  * But once he found himself in a relationship he wanted to last - he was not happy with everyone’s assumptions that it would take him a few days, weeks at most to get bored or tired of it. Not only because it was hurtful to him, but to his s/o too and could put a strain on the relationship he so honored. 
  * There was little Zevran was offered in his life that was given to him freely, without any price. He remembered those moments very vividly, always startled by the unexpectancy of it. That’s part of why he was so enamored with the very idea of someone wanting him to stay by their side, just like that, without any reason other than mutual respect and liking. Without any side using another, and without any games played behind the other’s back, Zevran found himself in a peaceful state of actually feeling genuinely happy. 
  * He’d make sure his s/o knew that he had absolutely no intention of leaving them for someone else, despite what people were saying. 
  * Zevran would make sure to let you know you were the only person on his mind, whether through the gifts he just seemed to find wherever he went, or through his words and actions. 
  * Sure, words can ease someone’s mind for a bit, but they are only words - he was aware of that. That’s why he made sure that his actions were as transparent as possible. 
  * There’s little Zevran would hide, because there’s little Zevran would want hidden from him. He’s a simple person, and he learned the rewards of mutual respect early on. 
  * Zevran would try to make you laugh as often as possible. He has a way with words, that much is obvious, but he wouldn’t refrain from acting silly too. There was a cheer in your eyes every time he succeeded at making your day better, that he wishes he could have painted and put on a canvas, but he knows that no artist could capture it faithfully enough. 




	2. Hair

  * Zevran was used to wearing his hair braided in a certain way. He spent a lot of time figuring out what looked best on him while also being practical enough not to get in his eyes during a fight. 
  * That being said, Zevran absolutely didn’t mind experimenting with something new if only there was enough time. 
  * He'd be delighted if you ever asked him to allow you to braid his hair, or even just brush it. Zevran was very proud of how silky his hair was naturally, and would definitely flaunt it in front of his less lucky companions. 
  * He'd generally try to keep it clean, but there wasn’t much he could do when the journey was long and lacked the fresh water to spare for hair washing. He'd take a bath the first chance he got, though. 
  * Zevran would absolutely love the feeling of your fingers on his scalp, and would sit very patiently when you tried your best to learn new braids on him. 
  * He'd be patient, but not quiet. Zevran would run his mouth continuously, commenting on every brush and encouraging you to try a few more things. He'd constantly twist and turn to wink at you or to watch your face after he made a particularly cheeky comment. 
  * He'd spend a good few minutes watching himself in the mirror after you were done, assessing his new looks from every perspective. 
  * He'd make it very obvious that you had been taking care of him, walking deliberately right in front of other companions, crossing their paths so that they had no way to avoid noticing his hair. 
  * He'd be really happy that you chose to spend the time together like that, and share those moments with him. 




	3. Admiration

  * Zevran would be very open about his feelings and various aspects of his relationship, whether someone actually wanted to listen to him or not. 
  * That included other party members, random strangers who commented on him or his s/o, and pretty old ladies who had just enough time to sit on the steps to their homes and listen to him talk with all the patience only the old possessed. No one would be spared. There were evenings when Alistair just left when Zevran came close. 
  * Zevran, if only he had someone to talk to, could talk for hours about every single thing he loved about you, and given the amount of admiration rising in his heart every time he remembered that you actually agreed to be with him, it was a lot of things. 
  * Silly things, pretty things, nude things - he noticed them all and stored them in his memory. 
  * Sure, if you wanted to keep your relationship more of a secret, he’d do his best to oblige and tone down the more obvious forms of expressing his love in public. 
  * Zevran knew how to keep things a secret, but it would gnaw at him not to be able to shout his feelings into the face of the world that’d been so harsh to him for so long. 
  * Part of the reason why Zevran was so forthcoming about his admiration and feelings was that there were still moments when he couldn’t really believe what a turn his life had taken. Speaking about it felt like Zevran was making it more real, more possible with every word confirming it. 
  * Zevran didn’t only admire his s/o through words. There were moments, those tiny pieces of calm in a world torn by Blight and war, when there was just enough time to sit down and exist together for a moment. No destiny, no war hanging over your heads. Just him and you, sharing a silence that somehow felt more compelling than a thousand poems. 




	4. Death

  * Zevran was no stranger when it came to death. Truth be told, he might’ve been considered an expert. 
  * From a young age, Zevran had encounters with death. As he mentioned, he was brought up in a brothel, and the district around it wasn't the most peaceful one, so there was a fair share of moments when he'd seen people fight, and sometimes even die. 


  * Things happened. Not many people around seemed moved by yet another corpse on the street, so why should he, at the age when all things new and strange seemed so fascinating? 
  * Zevran was young when he first saw a corpse and understood what it meant. There was no going back from that stiff, cold state, and no dignity would be offered to a corpse of an unknown unlucky pal rotting in the sewers. Zevran spent a good while watching it, taking in all the details. The smell didn't unsettle him at first, but it stayed at the back of his mind for longer than he expected. 
  * Later on, Zevran was taken in by the Antivan Crows, which brought a whole new tray of death-centered experience. There were days when he had to kill. There were days when he was the one almost losing his life. They blurred sometimes, especially after they lost their initial novelty and became a thing to get used to. 
  * The key to getting through all those years spent assassinating whoever had to die because of contracts, was to never get attached, and to never spend a second more than necessary thinking about the current target. Zevran had learned his lesson rather early in his career, and took notes. 
  * That was why, by no means, Zevran would ever consider himself inexperienced when it came to death, no matter its form or reason. 
  * And that's also why he was so taken aback when the first thought of you dying crossed his mind. 
  * You met under difficult circumstances in the middle of another Blight, with enemies swarming the world all around you and the merry crew of companions that had joined along the way. It wasn't unusual for a fight to happen, especially when you had to go through the deep forests, fulfilling the missions and looking for allies. 
  * It was okay, at first. Fights and battles, and even drunken brawls were something Zevran had been dealing with his whole life, and given that he was still alive, was proof that he was good at it. 
  * But he wasn't good at looking over his shoulder if you didn't need help, or if you weren't swarmed by the enemies, or encircled, or separated from allies. Zevran would never undermine your fighting skills, and that wasn't the reason why he was so worried. He was worried because he was well aware of how easy it was to make the tiniest mistake during a fight, and just die. 
  * Zevran had a lot of scars to prove it. No matter how good your skills were, there was always a chance that something might go awry and just… end.
  * Zevran understood death. 
  * He understood what it meant to never have a chance to talk again to someone, to joke, to love, to say all the things pushed back to a later date, to another occasion, to a better day, and the day just not coming. 
  * The fear of losing his s/o was a constant in Zevran's life. There were mornings when he woke up before you, and just stared at your sleeping form, wondering if today would be the day that would part you forever. 
  * He was good at covering his fears up with humor, and tried to do so on more than one occasion, but Zevran was also the kind of person that tried to be as open as possible to the few people he cared about. He'd talk with you about his fears, somewhere in the slow hours of the night, when the stars didn’t judge and no one was near to hear the fears he dragged out of his soul. 
  * Zevran wouldn't ask you to drop your mission, never. He understood the commitment and the need to set things right in the world, even by just doing your part. 
  * He only wished that he'd be able to stay by your side to the very end of it and see the world you wanted to save. 




	5. Injury

  * In Zevran's line of work, there is no shortage of injuries one might get on any unlucky day. All it takes is one slip to get a nasty little surprise. 
  * Zevran doesn't even count any of the small cuts or bruises he gets along the way, traveling with the Warden or before that. 
  * He tries to stay as safe as possible, of course, because there's nothing fun in getting injured and weakened. Sure, he gets hurt badly sometimes, but always handles it on his own. He's got enough experience to know how to take care of himself in order to get back on his feet as soon as possible. 
  * What he doesn't have much experience with, is someone getting genuinely worried about his health. 
  * The first time Zevran earned himself a cut nastier than the usual sort, he cleaned it, bandaged it, and got back on his feet. 
  * He did not expect to get scolded, tackled back onto his bedding, and promised a very violent end if he left bed in the next few hours. 
  * Zevran tried to laugh it off at first, calling the Warden a mother-hen for worrying about such a thing. It didn't change anything. He wasn't able to talk his way out of that one, and that's how Zevran ended up with the Warden fussing over him for the whole night, changing his bandages and making sure he didn't sneak out anywhere. 
  * That was… an interesting experience. A pleasant surprise under unpleasant circumstances. 
  * Zevran would never admit how unwell he felt, for fear of making you worry even more. He was grateful for all the attention and care you granted him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He'd never admit how much he appreciated that either. 
  * Zevran wasn’t used to having someone care about him without them gaining from it. But as his feelings for you grow over the course of your missions, he realizes that it feels good to be an important person in someone else's life. 



**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoy those! I know I'm so late in the fandom, but I really like Zevran.
> 
> You can find more of my work on AO3 or on silence-burns.tumblr.com


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